Resource of the Week
By Shirl Kennedy, Deputy Editor
We have eye candy for you this week on ResourceShelf. If you happen to be a researcher with an interest in the textile arts, this is an especially valuable database for you to bookmark.
Textiles--Database
Source: University College for the Creative Arts at Farnham (UK) The Textiles Collection
Comprising about 3,000 artifacts, this database of digital images "ranges from Coptic textiles dating from 800-1000 AD through to British woollen cloths, Kashmir shawls, African strip weaving and Scandinavian furnishing fabrics from 1950 to 1990." You can search the collection via a text box at the top of the home page; typing in batik, for example, and clicking "Go" generates a results page with seven records, each a thumbnail image with a brief description underneath. Click on an image to retrieve the item record, which includes: the creator, date, item type, its function (e.g., scarf), a general description, a subject term, type of material, visual information (e.g., "geometric"), technique (e.g., hand woven), process (e.g., batik), culture (e.g, country, ethnic group, etc.), source (how it was obtained), and rights. A link at the bottom of the record takes you to a full catalog record, which includes a link to a larger image. Many of these are quite spectacular, and rightly so. "Each image has been carefully created to describe the particular qualities of its subject - expressing the fold and drape of a textile; communicating the fibre, structure and finish of woven cloths; and illustrating pattern, repeat and scale in printed fabrics."
It's easy to browse the collection; by the object itself -- type (e.g., blanket), country of origin, maker/designer -- or by analysis -- raw materials, cloth structure, process. Clicking the plus signs next to these options reveals a wide range of terms. Clicking on any of them opens a new browser window that displays the relevant records as above.
An advanced search form offers dropdown menus that let you use basic boolean operators to search by the different record fields. It also allows you to search a whole bunch of visual art collections from other institutions. Click the little "i" in the circle to the right of a collection's name to get a detailed description (and a source URL).
If you register at the site, you can store items of particular interest in your own personal "lightbox."
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